U.S. patent number 7,333,944 [Application Number 09/662,398] was granted by the patent office on 2008-02-19 for systems for processing a product price or quotation request and placing a product order via a communications network.
Invention is credited to William F. Harris.
United States Patent |
7,333,944 |
Harris |
February 19, 2008 |
Systems for processing a product price or quotation request and
placing a product order via a communications network
Abstract
A system and method for a manufacturer to attract a customer for
a distributor, via a public access network, and perform product
information and ordering transactions with the customer, where the
order receives the financing approval of the distributor and an
associated manufacturer's representative receives a commission. The
system and method includes the customer submitting a
price/quotation request or product order to a host system via the
public access communications network. The host system interacts
with the customer, the manufacturer and the distributor in order to
fulfill the customer request. The host system retrieves a customer
price for the product, where the customer price is based on a
predetermined pricing function that varies depending on a customer
or distributor identification. The host system may also generate an
order for purchase, based on the customer's request, and transmit
customer information associated with the order to the distributor
for financial acceptance. Upon receiving a signal representing a
financial acceptance, a commission is assigned to a manufacturer's
representative associated with the order, where the commission is
determined based on a predetermined commission function. The host
system interacts with the customer, distributor and manufacturer to
insure fulfillment of the order, including shipment of the order
and settlement of payments.
Inventors: |
Harris; William F. (Charlotte,
NC) |
Family
ID: |
39059554 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/662,398 |
Filed: |
September 14, 2000 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.43;
705/26.81 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q
30/00 (20130101); G06Q 30/0283 (20130101); G06Q
30/0617 (20130101); G06Q 30/0635 (20130101); G06Q
30/0641 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06Q
30/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;705/25,26,27 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Wieffering, Eric, "Middleman Surviving Challenge of Internet," Star
Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn., Feb. 6, 2000, p. 01.D. cited by
examiner .
Internet Archive Wayback Machine,www.archive.org;
www.dontforgettotakeyourvitamines.com; Dec. 6, 2003; 3 pgs. cited
by other.
|
Primary Examiner: Garg; Yogesh C.
Assistant Examiner: Shah; Amee A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Alston & Bird LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A server system for generating an order for a product,
comprising: a receiver component that receives, on behalf of a
manufacturer, requests to order a product from a customer and for
receiving financial authorization from a distributor, a request
including a product code that identifies the product and a customer
identification that identifies a customer, and a financial
authorization comprising an acknowledgment from the distributor
verifying a customer account even though the request is received by
the receiver component in a manner independent of the distributor;
a data storage medium storing information for a plurality of
products, including a customer price associated with each of the
plurality of products; an order placement component that retrieves
from the data storage medium information for the identified product
and that uses the retrieved information to place an order from the
manufacturer of the identified product; and an order fulfillment
component that completes a purchase of the product in accordance
with the order placed by the order placement component including
arrangement for shipping by the manufacturer and billing of the
distributor.
2. The server system of claim 1, wherein the customer
identification includes an indication of the distributor so as to
identify the predetermined pricing function.
3. The server system of claim 1, wherein the customer
identification includes a customer account number associated with
the distributor.
4. The server system of claim 3, wherein the receiver component is
further for receiving an account number acknowledgment from the
distributor associated with the customer account number so as to
identify the predetermined pricing function.
5. The server system of claim 1, wherein the data storage medium
further includes pricing information associated with a plurality of
distributors, and wherein the predetermined pricing function
includes the distributor pricing information of the identified
distributor in the customer price.
6. The server system of claim 1, further comprising a commission
component that determines a commission and assigns the commission
to a manufacturer's representative, where the commission is based
on the order, and where the manufacturer's representative is
associated with the customer identification.
7. The server system of claim 1, further comprising a commission
component that determines a commission and assigns the commission
to a manufacturer's representative, where the commission is based
on the order, and where the manufacturer's representative is
associated with the product.
8. The server system of claim 1, further comprising a commission
component that determines a commission and assigns the commission
to a manufacturer's representative, where the commission is based
on the order, and where the manufacturer's representative is
associated with the customer identification and the product.
9. The server system of claim 1, wherein the data storage medium
further comprises stored information associating a manufacturer's
representative with a plurality of predetermined variables; and
further comprising a commission component that determines a
commission and assigns the commission to a manufacturer's
representative based on at least one of the plurality of
predetermined variables, where the commission is based on the
customer price.
10. The server system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of
predetermined variables includes at least one of a territory, a
distributor, a manufacturer, a commission percentage and the
customer identification.
11. The server system of claim 1, wherein the receiver component is
in communication via a public access communications network with a
site displaying information for the product, and wherein the order
is received via the public access network.
12. The server system of claim 1, wherein the receiver component is
in communication via a public access communications network with a
manufacturer-specific site displaying information for the product,
where the manufacturer-specific site primarily displays only
products of a single manufacturer, and wherein the order is
received via the public access network.
13. A server system for generating an order for a product,
comprising: a receiver component that receives, on behalf of a
manufacturer, requests to order a product from a customer, a
request including a product code that identifies the product and a
customer identification that identifies a customer, the receiver
component also configured to receive financial authorization from a
distributor verifying a customer account even though the request is
received by the receiver component in a manner independent of the
distributor; a data storage medium storing information for a
plurality of products and storing information for a plurality of
agents associated with the product, where the stored product
information includes a customer price associated with the product,
where the stored agent information includes at least one
predetermined variable associated with each of the plurality of
agents; and a commission component that determines a commission and
assigns the commission to one of the plurality of agents based on
at least one of the plurality of predetermined variables even
though the request is received by the receiver component in a
manner independent of the agents and even though the request is
fulfilled in a manner independent of the agents.
14. The server system of claim 13, wherein the predetermined
variable includes at least one of a territory, a distributor, a
manufacturer, a commission percentage and the customer
identification.
15. The server system of claim 13, wherein the data storage medium
further comprises a commission percentage associated with each of
the plurality of products, wherein the commission percentage is a
rate for calculating the commission, and wherein the commission is
based on the commission percentage.
16. The server system of claim 13, further comprising an order
placement component that retrieves from the data storage medium
information for the identified product and that uses the retrieved
information to place an order for the identified customer for the
identified products; and an order fulfillment component that
completes a purchase of the product in accordance with the order
placed by the order placement component.
17. The server system of claim 13, wherein the receiver component
is in communication via a public access communications network with
a site displaying information for the product, and wherein the
order is received via the public access network.
18. The server system of claim 13, wherein the receiver component
is in communication via a public access communications network with
a manufacturer-specific site displaying information for the
product, where the manufacturer-specific site primarily displays
only products of a single manufacturer, and wherein the order is
received via the public access network.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a computer system and method for
processing product price requests and placing product orders, and
more particularly, to a system and method for pricing and ordering
products over the Internet.
In order to sell their products to customers, manufacturers
typically employ a chain of manufacturer's representatives and
distributors. The manufacturer's representatives make sales calls
on the distributors to encourage them to carry the manufacturer's
products. The distributors stock and sell the manufacturer's
products and advertise these products. Further, the manufacturer's
representatives make sales calls on customers, such as contractors
who utilize the products and designers who specify the products, to
encourage them to purchase or specify the manufacturer's products.
For example, the customers of a lighting manufacturer's products,
such as lighting fixtures, include: architects, engineers and
designers who specify the lighting requirements for various
projects; contractors; corporations; military buying services;
retail consumers; and wholesalers and other similar accounts.
The customers have a number of options when desiring to purchase
products. They may directly contact the distributor to purchase the
products, or they may work with the manufacturer's representative.
These contacts may be in person, over the phone, via facsimile
documents, or over a communications network such as the electronic
mail and World Wide Web protocols of the Internet. As "surfing" the
Web becomes increasingly popular, increasing numbers of customers
are becoming comfortable with inquiring about and ordering products
over the Web. Businesses are aware of this trend, and as such a
potential customer surfing the Web is exposed to dramatically
expanding options in purchasing a product.
With the relative low cost of establishing a website and offering
products for sale, many manufacturers are foregoing the traditional
sales and distribution methods in favor of direct marketing on the
Web. In many of these instances, the manufacturers replace the
distributors and manufacturer's representatives with the direct
marketing website. This creates a number of problems, however, as
the manufacturer is then solely responsible for promoting and
distributing it's own products. Further, when problems with a
product arises in the field, the service traditionally provided by
the manufacturer's representative is no longer available, leading
to further problems for the manufacturer. Additionally, by dropping
the distributors and manufacturer's representatives, the
manufacturer losses a lot of contact points for promoting their
product.
Realizing these disadvantages, some manufacturer's offer products
both through the traditional chain of distributors and
representatives, as well as directly on a website. The problem with
this scenario, however, is that the distributors and
representatives view the direct sales website as a competitor, and
a threat to their own business. Thus, by implementing this
structure, manufacturers are damaging the morale and
cooperativeness of their own business associates.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, there is a particular need for a manufacturer to increase the
level of promotion of their products while still retaining,
integrating and providing incentives to distributors and
manufacturer's representatives.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method for
ordering a product includes receiving a request for an order via a
communications network, where the order includes a product code
identifying a product to be purchased and a customer identification
identifying a customer. The method also includes retrieving a
customer price for the product, where the customer price is based
on a predetermined pricing function that is associated with the
customer identification. Further, associated with the method is
providing a commission to an agent associated with the order and
with a manufacturer of the product, where the commission is
determined based on a predetermined commission function.
In an alternate embodiment, a method for placing a purchase order
includes receiving a request for an order via a communications
network, where the order includes a product code identifying a
product to be purchased and a customer identification identifying a
customer. The method further includes retrieving a customer price
for the product, where the customer price is based on a
predetermined pricing function that is associated with the customer
identification. Further, the method includes identifying a
distributor of the product from a plurality of distributors based
on the customer identification. The customer identification and
customer price are transmitted to the identified distributor for
financial approval. After receiving an acceptance notification from
the identified distributor, then the product in the order is
shipped to the customer.
In yet another alternate embodiment, a server system for generating
an order for a product includes a receiver component that receives
a request to order a product and that also receives financial
authorizations. The request includes a product code that identifies
the product and a customer identification that identifies a
customer. The financial authorization includes an acknowledgment
from a distributor verifying a customer account. The system further
includes a data storage medium that stores information for a
plurality of products, including a customer price associated with
each of the plurality of products. The customer price is based on a
predetermined pricing function that varies based on the customer
identification. Additionally, the system includes an order
placement component that retrieves from the data storage medium
information for the identified product and that uses the retrieved
information to place an order for the product from a manufacturer
of the product. Further, the system includes an order fulfillment
component that completes a purchase of the product in accordance
with the order placed by the order placement component.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a system
for receiving a quotation and placing a product order via a
communications network;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method for receiving
a quotation and placing a product order via a communications
network;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart of one embodiment of the initiation of a
request for price or request for quotation process;
FIG. 4 is a flow chart further detailing one embodiment of the
request for price process;
FIG. 5 is a flow chart further detailing one embodiment of the
request for quotation process;
FIG. 6 is a flow chart detailing one embodiment of a product order
transaction process;
FIG. 7 is a flow chart detailing one embodiment of a customer
account application process;
FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a home
page of a website for receiving a quotation and placing a product
order;
FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a product
area web page with various types of products available from a
manufacturer;
FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a
product area sub-category page with various sub-categories for a
select type of product; and
FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a
product page displaying various information relative to a selected
product.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of a system 10 for
processing requests for product pricing information and product
orders via a communications network 12, while integrating the
request with a traditional product distribution chain, includes a
host system 14 that provides a website 15 promoting products for
sale via interactive web pages 16. The host system 14 receives the
request, including a customer identification and a selected product
code, from a customer 18 interacting with the web pages 16 that are
provided over the communications network 12, preferably a public
access network such as the Internet, and displayed on a computer 20
using a browser 22 (Block 100, FIG. 2). The host system 14
retrieves a product price utilizing a predetermined pricing
function based on the product code and a mark-up based on the
customer identification. The product price and mark-up are combined
into a customer price, which is transmitted to the customer 18
(Blocks 102 and 104). Further, the host system 14 interacts with a
distributor 24 of the product, who is selected from a plurality of
distributors through specific identification by the customer or
through automatic identification by analyzing the data in the
request. The distributor 24 acknowledges whether the customer 18 is
a customer of the distributor, if so indicated by the request, in
order for the host system 14 to determine the customer price.
Additionally, if the customer 18 submits an order to purchase the
product (Block 106), the host system 14 transmits the order to the
distributor 24 for financial approval (Block 108) and to the
manufacturer for notification purposes. Upon receiving an
acceptance signal from the distributor 24 approving the financial
aspects of the order (Block 108), the host system 14 notifies the
manufacturer 28. The host system 14 and/or manufacturer 28,
typically upon receiving a payment from the distributor 24 for the
order, provides a commission based on a predetermined commission
function to a manufacturer's representative 26 (Block 110). The
manufacturer's representative 26, who is selected from a plurality
of representatives, is associated with the order through the
information in the order, such as the product and/or through a
territory corresponding to the location of the customer 18.
Further, the manufacturer's representative 26 is typically
responsible for the sales and service of the product in the
territory. Finally, the host system 14 may interact with a
manufacturer 28 of the product, who fulfills the order and
preferably delivers the product directly to the customer 18 (Block
112). Thus, the system and method provide a manufacturer-sponsored
website for the direct pricing/ordering of products, with the
distributor having financial approval of the customer order and
with order-based commissions provided to a manufacturer's
representative.
The website 15 of the host system 14, in one embodiment, primarily
promotes the products associated with a single manufacturer 28. As
such, the website 15 provides a co-marketing vehicle between the
manufacturer and its associated distributors and representatives.
The manufacturer-specific website 15 allows the manufacturer to
independently promote their own products, as opposed to a
distributor website that may include the manufacturer's products
along with a competitor's products. By integrating this
manufacturer-specific website with the traditional sales and
distribution chain, the manufacturer gains an additional, focused
marketing tool that rewards the traditional players in the sales
and distribution chain while reducing the burden on these players.
Pricing requests and product orders are handled primarily through
the host system 14, requiring only customer account confirmation
and product order financial approvals from the distributor, while
rewarding the manufacturer's representative with a commission on
the order. The system and method herein may provide relief to the
distributor from having to carry inventory to fill the order and
the associated inventory carrying costs, such as for taxes,
insurance and security. Further, the system and method herein may
relieve the distributor of most of the logistics associated with
filling the order, as the manufacturer handles most of the shipment
logistics. Further, by providing a commission to the manufacturer's
representative, the manufacturer's representative experiences
expanded sales in their territory without expending any cost or
effort. The commission based on the sales provided by the system
and method herein thereby give the manufacturer's representative an
incentive to initiate or continue providing service to the
customer. Thus, the present system and method provides the
manufacturer with an additional marketing outlet, which the
manufacturer can control, without alienating the traditional
participants in the distribution chain, and thereby retaining the
inherent benefits provided by these business associates or
agents.
In the architecture of the system 10, the host system 14 includes
one or more computer servers each having processors, data storage
medium, receiving components and transmitting components for the
processing, storing, input and output of data, signals and business
rules for performing the customer price information and product
order transactions.
For example, referring to FIG. 1, the host system 14 may include a
web server 30 for storing and generating the web pages 16 and for
parsing the data of the incoming request for use by the rest of the
host system 14. In generating the web pages 16 and performing other
associated tasks, the web server 30 accesses a variety of
information.
The host system 14 may also include one or more database servers 42
including various databases and tables utilized in processing the
transactions. For example, the web server 30 may interact with the
database server 42 that includes a product database 32 storing of
all the information about the products available from the
manufacturer 28, a product code database 34 storing of all the
identifiers of products, a product/product code database 36
associating the various products with their corresponding product
code, a distributor database 38 storing all of the information
about the distributors of the products, and a product or product
code/distributor database 40 associating the product or product
code with the one or more distributors that supply the product.
Additionally, for example, the database server 42 may include: a
product or product code/product price database 44 associating a
price with each product; a product or product code/mark-up database
46 associating a predefined mark-up factor or amount to multiply by
or add to the product price of each product; a
territory/manufacturer's representative database 48 associating a
given geographical territory with each manufacturer's
representative; a manufacturer's representative/distributor and/or
manufacturer database 50 associating a manufacturer's
representative with a distributor with whom the representative is
working; a commission database 52 storing information relating to
calculating and crediting commission amounts to each manufacturer's
representative and tables associating a commission rate or
percentage or factor with the manufacturer's representative and the
distributor and/or manufacturer; a manufacturer's representative
database 54 storing of all the information about each of the
manufacturer's representatives; and a customer database 55 storing
all of the information about the customer, as well as customer
preferences such as preferred distributors and the associated
customer account numbers.
Further, the host system 14 may include an intermediate server 56
including business rules 58 for performing the various
transactions, a price/quote database 60 storing information related
to each request for price or request for quotation, and a product
order database 62 storing information related to the content and
fulfillment of the purchase orders. The intermediate server 56 may
further include a product configurator 66, which is a software
module that interacts with the customer and with the data within
the host system 14 to assemble a product and product options into
predefined product configurations for ordering purposes.
Although shown as three separate servers, the web server 30,
database server 42 and intermediate server 56 may be combined into
a single server. Additionally, although the host system 14 is
described as having the data and processing capabilities for
performing the methods of the present invention, the computer 20 of
the customer 18 may share some of these tasks. Thus, the servers of
the host system 14 include all of the software and the data and
data relationships for the host system 14 to determine a customer
price for a product based on the identified distributor, as well as
determining a commission and a manufacturer's representative to
credit based on an order.
As mentioned above, the system 10 is preferably sponsored by a
single manufacturer 28, although it is possible that more than one
manufacturer may join together in offering their products on the
website 15. For example, manufacturers with complementary products
may jointly promote the website 15 in order to offer a potential
customer a more complete selection of products from which to
choose. For example, a light fixture manufacturer promoting the
website 15 may join together with one or more manufacturers of
complementary products, such as lamps or ballast. Other
arrangements of manufacturers joining together may also be
utilized. The manufacturer 28 generally produces a selection of
products that may be offered for sale directly by the manufacturer,
or through a sales and distribution chain incorporating, for
example, manufacturer's representatives 26 or other marketing/sales
agents and distributors 24 or other resellers. For example, in the
lighting industry, one example of a manufacturer is W.F. Harris
Lighting of Monroe, N.C.
The customer 18 may be any potential product specifier, purchaser
or anyone interested in a product produced by the manufacturer 28.
For example, the customer 18 may be a designer who specifies
products, a commercial customer or a retail customer. Customers who
specify a product include, for example, designers, engineers and
architects. A commercial customer is a customer who qualifies to
purchase a product at a discount because they are a reseller of the
product and/or because they purchase large quantities of the
product. An example of commercial customer in the lighting
industry, for example, includes contractors. In contrast, a retail
customer is a consumer, generally without industry ties and
generally making a one-time, small quantity purchase.
In the system 10, one or more customers 18 may interact with the
host system 14 at any one time. The customer 18 provides an
identity to the host system 14 using a customer identification 64.
The customer identification 64 may be one or a combination of data
such as: the customer's name; the customer's address or location,
including one or more of the street name, city, state, zip code,
county and country; an account number, where the account number
includes the customer's customer account number with a distributor,
or where the account number includes a financial account, such as a
credit, debit, charge, savings or checking account, with a
financial institution, or where the account number includes a
contractor number or a specifying architect/engineer/designer
number; an Internet protocol (IP) address, which may indirectly
include the customer's location; a biometric identifier, such as
based on a fingerprint, iris, eye, face, handwriting, and other
similar biometrics; and any other unique alphabetic, numeric or
alphanumeric code, such as a website-specific name and password
that identifies the customer.
The distributor 24 is one of a plurality of entities that resell
the product or products of the manufacturer 28. The distributor 24
also may promote the products of the manufacturer 28 to potential
customers 18. Usually a manufacturer 28 is associated with a number
of distributors 24 in order to increase the scope of marketing of
their product. Typically, the distributor 24 keeps an inventory of
the manufacturer's products and makes that inventory available to
the customer 18 in a typical sales/distribution chain transaction,
however, that inventory is not required or utilized by the present
invention.
In a traditional sales/distribution chain transaction, for example,
the distributor gives the customer a customer price for a product.
The distributor-quoted customer price includes a product price plus
a unique mark-up, where the product price may be the price the
distributor paid for the product and the unique mark-up includes a
distributor-specific additional amount the distributor charges for
the product to cover their expenses and profit. If the customer
wants the product, the customer submits an order to the
distributor, and the distributor ships the product from inventory
to the customer and bills the customer. The customer pays the
distributor, while the distributor had previously paid the
manufacturer for the product after receiving it into inventory. In
this traditional scenario, the distributor incurs costs, such as
taxes and overhead on the inventory of the product. Further, the
distributor incurs cost in marketing and promoting the product, as
well as in managing the order process and arranging the delivery
and delivering the product, and further including the costs of
carrying inventory.
The present system 10 and method allows the distributor 24 to avoid
many of these costs on the incremental sales provided herein,
however, as the host system 14 manages the majority of transactions
involved in the request for pricing information and product orders
from the customer 18. The distributor 24 is primarily involved in
the aspect of approving customer's method of financing identified
in the product order and settling the transaction, when the
customer 18 purchases a product through the host system 14. For
example, the distributor 24 validates a given customer account and
insures a given customer credit limit is not exceeded by the order.
Further, the distributor 24 interacts with the host system 14 to
confirm whether or not the customer 18 has a customer account with
the distributor, or otherwise qualifies for special pricing. Thus,
the distributor avoids all of the inventory and product delivery
costs while being able to make money by financing transactions with
which the distributor is not directly involved.
The manufacturer's representative or agent 26 is one of a plurality
of individuals or organizations associated with the manufacturer 28
that market and sell their products. A manufacturer's
representative 26 may have an exclusive contract to represent the
products of only one manufacturer, or they may be independent and
represent a number of competing manufacturers. Additionally, there
may be various manufacturer's representatives 26 in a given
territory, such as a distributor representative, a showroom or
commercial representative, etc. Further, the manufacturer's
representative 26 typically has a contract with the manufacturer 28
that establishes a commission to be paid to the representative for
generating orders/sales of the products. For example, the
manufacturer's representative 26 may have a commission equal to a
percentage of the sales price of the product, or equal to a flat
rate for each sale, where the percentage or rate may vary depending
on the distributor, manufacturer and/or product.
The system 10 for processing requests for product pricing
information and product orders now will be further described with
reference to lighting products. The system and methods of the
present invention may be utilized with any other commercially- or
retail-available products, however, where it is desirable for a
manufacturer to establish additional marketing opportunities for
its products while maintaining and integrating distributors and
manufacturer's representatives or other business associates in a
typical marketing/distributor chain.
In one exemplary embodiment of a system and method for processing
requests for product pricing information and product purchase
orders, referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, a customer 18 accesses the web
pages 16 of the website 15 generated by the host system 14 (Block
120). In order to have complete access to all of the functionality
of the website 15, the customer 18 may need to enter a name and
password to log in. For example, a commercial customer or other
previous user may enter identification information to gain access
to special ordering screens or to automatically recall
previously-saved information. In contrast, a retail customer or a
other first time visitor to the website 15 may be allowed to browse
through predefined pages 16 and retrieve product information and
pricing without requiring any identification information.
Preferably, the website 15 promotes products of only the
manufacturer 28, and includes information and data that fully
describe the product to the customer 18 in order to answer
questions the customer may have in making the pricing or purchasing
decision. Further, the website 15 may be organized by product or by
groups of products. The customer 18 may select a product area
(Block 122) that displays a group of related products to narrow
down their search for a particular product. Alternatively, the
customer 18 may directly select a particular product within the
website 15.
Once a desired product is found, then the customer selects the
product (Block 124) and adds it to their request or order. For
example, in viewing information on a product, the customer may
select an order button displayed on the web page which
automatically enters the product into an order. If the product
selected by the customer 18 includes options and/or accessories,
the host system 14 may prompt the customer to configure the product
for example, by utilizing the product configurator 66 (Block 126).
For example, the host system 14 may display web pages 16 to the
customer showing the options and/or accessories, requiring the
customer 18 to select a preferred option/accessory to complete the
product selection. Once the product configuration is complete, the
host system 14 may give the customer 18 the option to continue
shopping so that additional products can be entered onto the order
or so that the just-entered order can be modified, or to finalize
and submit the order (Block 128). If the customer 18 indicates a
preference to continue shopping, then the customer may select an
area within the website 15, such as another product area, to
continue shopping. If the customer 18 indicates the desire to
finalize and submit the order, then the host system 14 may require
the customer to select one from a plurality of distributors 24
(Block 130) and enter customer identification 64 (Block 132).
The selection of the distributor 24 (Block 130) may not be
required, however, depending on information contained with the
customer identification 64 or depending on whether the customer 18
is making a request for price or a request for quote, as are
discussed below. For example, if the customer 18 is a previous
visitor to the site and has stored a distributor preference on the
host system 14 such as in the customer database 55, then the host
system may retrieve this information automatically. Other
information previously-stored on the host system 14 and associated
with the customer 18 may include other preferences and information,
such as the customer's customer account number associated with the
indicated distributor and the customer's name and password for
accessing the website. Further, for example, if the customer 18 is
a retail customer and is only making a request for price, then the
host system 14 may retrieve from the distributor database 38 the
distributor that is geographically-located nearest to the customer
based on the customer information 64. Alternatively, for example,
if the customer 18 is a retail customer and is only making a
request for price, then the host system 14 may not require a
distributor association until a purchase order is entered, if a
distributor is not automatically selected, and thus may merely
retrieve a standard retail mark-up from the database server 42.
Alternately, the system 10 may allow the customer 18 to enter
multiple distributor identifications to enable the customer to
efficiently make price comparisons.
Upon finalizing the order, the customer 18 submits it to the host
system 14 (Block 134), indicating a request for price (RFP) or a
request for quotation (RFQ). In a RFP transaction, the customer 18
is querying the host system 14 for a customer price for an
identified product. Typically, the customer price will vary
depending on the distributor and depending on whether or not the
customer has an account with the distributor. The RFQ transaction
may be utilized by a customer 18 to compare product pricing from
various distributors prior to initiating an order. An RFQ is a
special case transaction, where the customer believes a product
price other than the usual customer price should be associated with
an order. For example, a contractor ordering a large quantity or an
unusual product configuration may utilize the RFQ transaction. The
host system 14 receives the request and stores a copy in the
price/quote database 60 (Block 136), and then determines if it is
an RFP or an RFQ (Block 138).
Referring to FIG. 4, if the request is an RFP, then the host system
14 determines if the customer 18 is a commercial customer or a
retail customer based on the customer identification 64 (Block
140). Any number of methods or information within the customer
identification 64 may be utilized to make this determination. For
example, the host system 14 may identify the customer 18 as a
commercial customer when the customer identification 64 includes a
distributor identification and a customer account number for the
identified distributor. Alternatively, for example, the host system
14 may identify the customer 18 as a retail customer when the
customer identification includes a credit card account number or no
account number at all.
If the customer 18 is identified as a retail customer, then the
host system 14 retrieves a retail mark-up and a product price from
the database server 42 and combines them into a customer price for
each product in the order (Blocks 141 and 142). The host system 14
then generates the order price (Block 144), which is the sum of the
customer price times the product quantity for each product in the
order, and transmits the order price to the customer 18 (Block
146).
Alternatively, if the customer 18 is identified as a commercial
customer, then the host system 14 retrieves the customer account
number for the distributor from the customer identification 64, or
from the database server 42 if it has been previously stored (Block
148). The host system 14 then transmits the customer account number
to the distributor for acknowledgment of the validity of the
customer account number (Block 150). The host system 14 then
receives a signal from the distributor indicating the validity of
the customer account number (Block 152). The signal may also
indicate that the customer is in good standing, i.e. has not
exceeded their credit limit, with the distributor. The host system
14 then determines if the signal from the distributor indicates
acceptance or rejection of the customer account number (Block 154).
If the signal rejects the customer account number, then the host
system 14 notifies the customer 18 (Block 156), who may be given
one or more options such as to enter another customer account
number, to modify the order to specify another distributor and
customer account number, or to obtain a retail price. If the signal
indicates acceptance of the customer account number, then the host
system retrieves a distributor-specific mark-up and a product price
from the database server 42, such as from the product code/mark-up
database 46 and the product/product price database 44, for each
product in the order (Blocks 158 and 142, respectively). The host
system 14 then calculates the customer price and generates the
order price (Block 144). The customer price is a function of the
product price and distributor-specific mark-up. The order price is
the sum of the customer price times the product quantity for each
product in the order. The host system 14 then transmits the order
price to the customer 18 (Block 146).
Along with the transmission of the order price (Block 146), the
host system 14 may allow the customer 18 to indicate whether or not
they would like to modify the order (Block 160). For example, the
customer 18 may decide to alter the order quantity after seeing the
order price, or the customer may decide to add or delete products
from the order. If the host system 14 receives an indication for an
order modification, then the host system returns the customer 18 to
Block 128 to reconfigure and resubmit the order (Block 162). If the
host system 14 receives an indication from the customer 18 to
purchase the products identified in the order, then the host system
stores a copy of the order in the product order database 62 and
proceeds with a purchasing order transaction (Block 164 and FIG.
6).
Referring to FIG. 5, if the received request is an RFQ (Block 166),
then the host system 14 transmits the request to the manufacturer's
representative 26 with notification to the manufacturer 18 (Block
167). Alternatively, the host system 14 may transmit the RFQ to the
manufacturer 28, who then forwards the RFQ to the appropriate
manufacturer's representative 26. In either case, the manufacturer
28 then evaluates the RFQ and provides a customer price for each
product and forwards the RFQ to the manufacturer's representative
26 for approval. Alternately, the host system 14 may provide a
suggested customer price based on predefined guidelines for a
product price and a predefined mark-up, such as by varying the
product price or predefined mark-up based on quantity, dollar
amount of the order, the customer, etc (Block 168). The
manufacturer's representative 26 reviews the RFQ to insure that the
request does not conflict with other projects that the
manufacturer's representative may already be working on with other
customers. For example, a number of contractors may competitively
bid for the same project, and if the manufacturer's representative
26 is already working with one contractor, the rep may not want to
give a different price quote to the competing contractor, or the
rep may not want to give any quote at all to the competing
contractor. Once the rep 26 reviews the RFQ, a notice of a
rejection or of an approval, with the quoted customer price, is
returned to the customer 18 from the rep or through the
manufacturer 28 or through the host system 14, with a copy being
stored in the price/quote database 60 (Block 170, FIG. 1).
The quotation includes an order price, which is the sum of the
customer price times the number of products for each product in the
order. The customer price is a function of the product price and a
quotation-specific mark-up for each product in the order. The
quotation-specific mark-up may depend on the product price, a
distributor-specific mark-up, the distributor, the product
quantity, the product, the customer, the manufacturer's
representative, and other similar variables that affect a customer
price. As mentioned above, the quotation-specific mark-up may be
predetermined and automatically selected by the host system 14
based on quantitive factors such as product quantity, product
price, customer identification, etc.
The host system 14 then prompts the customer 18 about modifying the
RFQ or placing an order for purchase (Block 172). If the host
system 14 receives an indication from the customer 18 to modify the
order, then the host system returns the customer to Block 128 (FIG.
3) to modify the order (Block 174). If the host system 14 receives
purchase indication from the customer 18, then the host system
stores a copy of the order in the product order database 62 (FIG.
1) and initiates a purchasing transaction (Block 176) (and see FIG.
6).
Referring to FIG. 6, upon receiving a purchasing request for the
order from the customer 18, and if payment information has not yet
been provided or retrieved based on the customer identification 64,
then the host system 14 requests and appends the payment
information, such as a financial account number, to the order
(Block 178). For example, this may occur when a retail customer
desires to place a product order. The host system 14 updates the
product order database 62 and then transmits all or a portion of
the product order to the distributor 24 for financial approval
(Block 180) and to the manufacturer for notification purposes
(Block 182). For example, the distributor may receive the customer
account number and the order price so that the transaction may be
financially evaluated. The manufacturer 28, or alternatively the
host system 14, then notifies the manufacturer's representative 26
(Block 184). The notifications, prior to approval, of the
manufacturer 28 and rep 26 enable them to monitor the sales
activity and approval process to ensure that an unscrupulous
distributor does not supply a similar product to the customer,
using a different manufacturer or representative, to satisfy the
order outside the present system. The host system 14 then receives
and stores a financial confirmation from the distributor,
indicating that the customer account information is valid and
optionally indicating that the customer's indicated method of
payment is valid and accepted (Block 186). The host system 14
transmits and stores a notice of distributor acceptance or
rejection to the manufacturer and customer (Block 182). The
manufacturer 28, or alternatively the host system 14, then notifies
the manufacturer's representative 26 (Block 184). Within the
distributor acceptance signal, the distributor may include a
purchase order number that the host system 14 forwards to the
manufacturer. Alternatively, the distributor 24 may communicate a
purchase order number to the manufacturer 28 via other methods,
such as by fax, verbally or by electronic mail.
Further, upon determining that the customer and payment information
is accepted (Block 188), the host system 14 may calculate and
provide a commission to a manufacturer's representative 26
associated with the order (Block 190). In order to determine the
proper manufacturer's representative 26, the host system 14
preferably utilizes the customer identification 64 to determine a
location of the customer 18. The host system 14 associates the
customer location with a territory, such as by using the customer's
zip code, and associates the territory with a particular
manufacturer's representative 26 using the information in the
territory/manufacturer's representative database 48 (FIG. 1).
Further, the host system 14 may determine and store the commission
utilizing a predetermined commission function in the commission
database 52. The commission is determined by a commission function
that includes a commission percentage multiplied by the order
price, where the commission percentage is based on the distributor
and/or the manufacturer's representative and/or the manufacturer.
Alternatively, the commission database 52 may store a commission
rate that is associated with each product, or with the identified
manufacturer's representative, and applied to each product in the
order or to the whole order to determine the commission. The host
system 14 preferably notifies the manufacturer 28 and
manufacturer's representative 26 of the commission, and tracks the
settlement of the commission between these two parties.
In an alternative embodiment, the manufacturer 28 determines the
commission and pays the commission to the appropriate
manufacturer's representative 26 once the manufacturer receives the
purchase order payment from the distributor 24. Alternately, the
distributor 24 may identify the manufacturer's representative to
receive the commission.
Further, upon determining that the customer and payment information
is rejected (Block 188), the host system 14 then may give the
customer 18, if the customer is a commercial customer who entered a
customer account number (Block 192), the option of resubmitting the
order using different payment information (Block 194). For example,
a contractor who exceeds their credit limit on their distributor
customer account may still be able to order the product at the
contractor price by using a credit card account for payment. If the
host system 14 receives a signal from the commercial customer 18
indicting the desire to use different payment information, then the
customer is returned to Block 178 to enter the payment information
and continue. If the customer 18 is not a commercial customer, or
if the host system 14 receives a signal from the commercial
customer 18 indicting the desire not to use different payment
information, then the transaction is ended (Block 196).
To conclude the process, the manufacturer 28 ships the products
specified in the order directly to the customer 18 and bills the
distributor 24 (Block 198). Preferably, the manufacturer 28 first
reviews and approves the product order prior to shipment of the
product. For example, the manufacturer 28 may not approve of a
product order that directs a product to be shipped to a country
subject to a government imposed boycott. The direct shipment to the
customer 18 eliminates the distributor 24 from having to carry
inventory of the products ordered using the present system 10. The
distributor 24 pays the manufacturer 28 and bills the customer 18
(Block 200). The customer 18 receives the products on the purchase
order and the distributor's bill, and then pays the distributor 24
(Block 202).
Referring to FIG. 7, the system and method of the present invention
may include a credit application or customer account application
process, integrated with the RFP and RFQ transactions, for a
customer 18 who is a potential customer of a distributor. The host
system 14 may provide, either during the ordering process, such as
at the distributor selection or customer identification steps (FIG.
3, Blocks 130 and 132), or as a separate menu option, web pages 16
for the customer 18 to select a particular distributor's credit
application and enter the required information (Block 204). The
required information may vary by distributor, but typically
includes information such as customer identification and
financial/credit information. Once the required information is
entered and the customer submits the application, the host system
14 receives the application, which may be confidentially stored in
the customer database 55, and transmits the application to the
selected distributor 24 (Blocks 206 and 208). Preferably, the
credit application information is securely kept such that only the
distributor 24 may access the information. Once the host system 14
transmits the application to the distributor 24, it also sends an
acknowledgment to the customer 18 (Block 210). Further, the host
system 14 sends a notification to the manufacturer 28 that the
customer 18 has submitted an application to the selected
distributor 24 (Block 212). The acknowledgment sent to the customer
18 (Block 210) may include information on approval time response
based on the particular policies of the selected distributor 24. If
the response time is not immediate, then the host system 14 may
store the order in the order database 62 associated with the
customer 18, so that the order may be re-submitted at a later date
as a request for price or request for quotation, as indicated by
the customer, upon receipt of the customer account number from the
selected distributor.
The distributor 24 analyzes the application and returns an
application response signal to the host system 14. The host system
14 receives, stores and interprets the application response signal
as an approval or denial (Block 216) and notifies the customer 18
and manufacturer 28 of the application response (Blocks 210 and
212). If the application is approved (Block 218), then the approval
includes a customer account number that the customer 18 may utilize
in future requests, or the host system 14 may retrieve the stored
request, automatically insert the customer account number, and
continue processing (Block 220). If the application is denied
(Block 218), then the customer 18 may enter other account data,
such as a financial account, to get product prices or quotes based
on retail pricing, or the host system 14 may retrieve the stored
request and continue processing as a retail request (Block
222).
The processes and methods described above are presented in a
preferred arrangement. The various steps may be combined, some
steps may be eliminated, and/or the order of the steps may be
changed and still be within the system and method of the present
invention.
Referring to FIG. 8, an exemplary manufacturer-specific website 15
includes a home page 300 having a text/graphics area 302 for
displaying written and graphical/pictorial information welcoming
the customer to the site and discussing the manufacturer and the
manufacturer's products. The home page 300 also includes a site
index 304 having a plurality of navigation buttons 306. Further,
the home page 300 includes a plurality of pull-down menus 308 that
drill-down to the various pages available within the website.
The home page 300 may initially present the customer with a login
pop-up menu 310, requesting a customer identification 312 and a
password 314. The customer identification 312 may be a unique alpha
and/or numeric code or biometric data associated with the customer,
while the password is a unique alpha and/or numeric code that
verifies the identity of the customer. Both the customer
identification 312 and password 314 may be compared with an
authentic customer identification and password previously-stored in
the customer database 55. The customer identification 312 may be
the same as, or may be a part of, the customer identification 64
used in the request process as described regarding Block 104 (FIG.
2) and Block 132 (FIG. 3). By requesting a customer identification
312 and password 314, the host system 14 performs an information
gathering function that enables recognition of the customer as, for
example, a contractor, distributor, manufacturer's representative
or retail customer, and to otherwise customize the presentation of
the forthcoming web pages. Alternately, as described above, a login
may not be required.
The plurality of navigation buttons 306 include direct links to
areas of interest to the typical customer. For example, typical
navigation buttons include: a product button 316 for further
information on product areas and/or specific products; a order area
318 for linking to order entry web pages; a customer registration
button 320 for entering customer information for storage in the
customer database 55; a sales representative button 322 for
information on the plurality of manufacturer's representatives 26;
a distributor button 323 for information on the plurality of
distributors 24; a warranty information button 324 for information
on product warranties; a frequently asked questions (FAQ) button
326 for information in response to typical customer questions; an
about us button 328 for information on the manufacturer 28; and a
contact us button 330 for information on contacting the
manufacturer 28 and or administrator of the host system 14.
In reviewing product information the customer 18 may select the
products button 316, and be presented with a product areas page 332
displaying the various type of products 334 available from the
manufacturer 28. For example, typical product areas offered by
manufacturer W. F. Harris Lighting may include: High Abuse 336;
Decorative Indoor/Outdoor 338; Night Owl 340; Work Lights 342;
Rough Service 344; Emergency 346; Floods 348; Portable 350;
Landscape 352; and Graphics 354, among others.
Referring to FIG. 10, upon selecting one of the various types of
products 334, the customer 18 is presented with a product area
sub-category page 356 including product sub-categories 358, which
are specific for each of the types of products 334. For example,
the sub-categories 358 for the decorative indoor/outdoor product
area 338 may include: incandescent 360; halogen 362; fluorescent
364; and high density discharge 366, among others.
Referring to FIG. 11, upon selecting one of the product
sub-categories 358, the customer 18 is presented with a product
page 368 that includes information on one or a plurality of
products categorized under the selected sub-category. For example,
the product page 368 may include a product name 370 and an
associated product code 372 assigned to the product by the
manufacturer 28. Further, the product page 368 may include: a
product photograph 374 or other image/representation of the
product; a product written description 376 describing the product;
a further information button 378 to obtain further detailed images
or written description or specifications on the product; a print
button 380 to print the product page 368; and an order button 382
to initiate the order process.
The web pages described above are for a preferred embodiment. Other
embodiments including modifications, additions and/or deletions to
the above-defined pages may be implemented and still be within the
system and method of the present invention.
Thus, the system and method disclosed herein preferably includes a
web-based system and method for a manufacturer to market and sell
for profit or exposure its manufactured and/or assembled products
on its exclusive website. The products are sold in cooperation with
distributors using mutually agreed-upon or otherwise derived
individual or overall predefined mark-ups. The customer prices may
be accessed by a customer, where the distributor is
customer-selected or automatically determined from customer
information. Further, upon receiving an order having
distributor-approved financing, an agent or manufacturer's
representative associated with the order is credited with a
commission based on the order and/or the customer and/or the
account type. Typically, the commission is determined based on a
commission rate according to a standing agreement in effect between
the manufacturer and agent/representative at the time the
commission is calculated. Therefore, the system and method allows a
customer to place an order through a manufacturer's website, using
a customer- or automatically-selected distributor and crediting a
manufacturer's representative, thereby providing incremental sales
and marketing that benefit the manufacturer, distributor and
manufacturer's representative.
Although the invention has been described and illustrated in
detail, it is to be clearly understood that the same is intended by
way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way
of limitation. Accordingly, variations and modifications of the
present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and
the following claims are intended to cover all such modifications
and equivalents.
* * * * *
References